Wits University hosts 14th conference on Investigative Journalism in Africa

About 300 journalists have attended the 2018 conference on African investigative journalism.
This 14th gathering of investigative journalists from across Africa and the world has 70 speakers in 62 different sessions and delegates from at least 36 countries.

Participants in the 14th African Investigative Journalism Conference.

Immam Nma Shuaib, journalist of Daily Trust Newspaper based in Abuja, says Investigative journalists in Nigeria face some challenges while doing their job such as the lack of access to data and the fact that authorities try to hide figures. “Government officials are afraid to give information to journalists fearing to be exposed. This often leads them to give false figures and we find that through fact checking. Security forces also threaten investigative journalists and some of them are sometimes arrested and jailed,” he says.

As for Anton Harber, Professor of Journalism at Wits University and organizer of the conference, he says the event is very important as it aims to support and promote investigative journalists across the African continent.

“The future of investigative journalism lies in cross-border cooperation and the promotion of new digital skills,” he says.

The African Investigative journalism conference, formerly known as the power reporting conference, has taken place annually since 2005 and is organized by the journalism program of Wits University in Johannesburg in partnership with the Global Investigative Journalism Network.

It is known to be the Africa’s premier gathering of investigative journalists which gives African and international investigative journalists an opportunity to learn new skills, share stories, experience and network.